Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Some cards are not liable to stamp duty, such as store cards. The Revenue Commissioners have taken the view that products which are essentially gift vouchers paid for in advance to give a defined spending power to the recipients, often confined to a particular store or stores and usually having a defined life, do not have the characteristics of credit cards or charge cards which offer continuous spending power within agreed limits. Therefore, cash cards are not included. Until recently, these items were primarily being issued by way of a paper voucher card, but increasingly they are issued in the form of a plastic card. However, the underlying purpose has not changed.

From next year, financial institutions will be required to make a preliminary payment in December of each year of the stamp duties on financial cards due to be paid in the following year. The payment will be based on 80% of their stamp duty liability for the previous year and the date on which customers are charged will not be changed. The combination of the increase in the stamp duty rate applicable to cheques, combined with the reduction in the duties on financial cards and credit card accounts, results in an overall estimated reduction in the yield from these instruments of €22 million.

I take the point that there are some elderly people who do not like moving from the old position, but the masses are using the alternative. We are reducing charges on what the great number of people are doing. It is costing us €60 million but we are getting back €22 million. The introduction of the new requirement that financial institutions make a prepayment of stamp duties on financial cards due to be paid in the following year will result in a once-off yield for 2008. Overall, there will be a reduction in this area.

Some financial institutions are doing away with their bank books in their entirety from 31 December. They have been running campaigns throughout the year for people to use ATM and laser cards. Not only are they doing away with their cheques and their promissory notes, but they are doing away with the book. As I understand it, that has been compulsory with some of the institutions. It is not a question of people having the option because the banks are opting out of these products. There were consumer complaints about this issue during the year and people did not like it, but that is the position.

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